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I’m tempted to begin with the ending

September 4, 2007- October 6, 2007

Reception: September 6, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Marcus Kenney

Robert Steele Gallery

511 W 25th St

The Robert Steele Gallery at 511 West 25th Street between 10th and 11th Avenues in Chelsea is pleased to announce the opening of I’m tempted to begin with the ending, new paintings by Marcus Kenney on Tuesday, September 4th through October 6th 2007. A reception will be held Thursday, September 6th from 6 to 8pm; the artist will be present. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 11 to 6pm and by appointment.

Using the castoff detritus of a bygone – and going fast – American culture: postage stamps, cigar bands, marble dust, pain-by-numbers silhouettes, bits of wallpaper and happy, unconflicted images straight out of our Dick and Jane and Little Black Sambo past, Marcus Kenney creates collage paintings whose quiet narratives slowly reveal an apocalyptic whimsy, the wallop of a definitely political bite.

See Dick. See Jane. See Dick doing god-knows-what with Jane. The easy references here of course, are Joseph Cornell, Henry Darger and even Balthus: collected junk transformed to the ethereal; eerie and disturbing sexual tension either aimed at, or unconcerned with, you the viewer. But tucked away, away are Henry Miller, Truman Capote and Harper Lee - even Joseph Mitchell. Like Kenney, these last three are all Southerners, all with the Southern gift of quiet narrative, a wealth of descriptive detail and a pace and cadence that pull you in on their terms until the tranquil air reveals its true edge.

Cathy Byrd, in Art in America, wrote that “the range of contemporary social and ecological issues addressed in (Kenney’s) works elevates the nature of his materials.” Jerry Cullum wrote in The Atlanta Journal Constitution in 2004, “The technique of collage has rarely been put to more intelligently entertaining uses.” And Felicia Feaster, in the Best of Atlanta summarized, “Archeologist-meets-conceptualist Kenney is like Noam Chomsky on a thrift store spree. He’s a mix-master of the mad mothball flurry of imagery and matter that makes up our cultural legacy.”

Books and DVDs related to artists in this show

Location map  Gallery Robert Steele Gallery Address 511 W 25th St, Suite 101 New York (Chelsea) NY, 10001 United States Phone 212-243-0165 Fax 212-243-1439 Hours Tue-Sat 11-6 Nearby: All 26 galleries at 511 W 25th St

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